Rutgers basketball coach Mike Rice, Jr. is the latest coach to make headlines for mistreating his players through intimidation, verbal slurs, and physical aggression. Many people feel strongly about Rice’s immediate dismissal after witnessing his antics caught on video, but Rice is not the first coach to use intimidation and humiliation methods to coach his players. In fact, former Indiana basketball coach Bob Knight is famous for getting in players faces, throwing chairs, and even once choking a player and today he is respected and revered!
Coaching is really leadership when you distill it down, prompting sport psychology-related questions about the methods some use in order to successfully lead a team (sports or otherwise). In the case of Mike Rice (similar to Bob Knight and other coaches famous for their strong-arm techniques), the thinking is that it is vitally important to show who is in charge, regardless of the verbal or physical actions needed to achieve superiority over players. These coaches use intimidation, humiliation, embarrassment, and sometimes even physical aggression when teaching players about mental toughness and various sports skills. Sound a little harsh? For many, it is, which is why Mike Rice videos are playing all around the world today.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3shzsNYur0[/youtube]
Opinions often vary when it comes to the best ways to coach athletes – some people today are already screaming for Mike Rice’s head, while others are talking about his actions as being a “little over the top,” but not that different from what a lot of coaches do every day. Some coaches believe in completely tearing down players in order to “mold them” by building them back up, while others believe in the importance of treating players as people and using positive reinforcement as their primary tool in modifying behaviors.
When players (or employees for that matter) work harder and play better because they are scared to death to mess up, you could say that on the surface intimidation and humiliation “works.” But positive reinforcement also works very well, as do other interpersonal communication methods like getting to know players, building rapport, and being there to lift them during tough times. While it is true that human beings take action to either gain pleasure or avoid pain, I think most people would rather improve because they feel respected and a part of a team – and not because they are scared to death if they screw up they will be made fun of in front of the team.
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